Neither of these is true.
I guess I've never had it done properly.
The homemade comment was referring to the grind difference between what I make and a brat.
Oh, I'd love to be an Oscar Mayer wiener.
That is what I'd truly like to be.
'Cause if I were an Oscar Mayer wiener,
Everyone would be in love with me.
On a white hot dog bun with yellow mustard, Heintz ketchup and relish.
And a Diet Coke.
Guilty pleasure.
The Abba of food stuffs.
That is what I'd truly like to be.
'Cause if I were an Oscar Mayer wiener,
Everyone would be in love with me.
On a white hot dog bun with yellow mustard, Heintz ketchup and relish.
And a Diet Coke.
Guilty pleasure.
The Abba of food stuffs.
Bob, I think the methods are similar.
I would do a light grilling to get it partly browned and partly cooked.
Then into the resting pan for up to 30 minutes, no more, and yes cheap beer is fine although porter was what I liked.
Back on the grill for a minute or two when you're getting ready to serve.
I am still of the camp that says don't drown the damn things.
Grilled sausage in one hand, beer in the other. The two shall never meat (sic)
I need to be shown otherwise. I am betting you are up for the challenge.
Please invite both Mark and me.
There's a red-eye out of Vancouver leaving Thursday. I will pack light but need a ride.
I would do a light grilling to get it partly browned and partly cooked.
Then into the resting pan for up to 30 minutes, no more, and yes cheap beer is fine although porter was what I liked.
Back on the grill for a minute or two when you're getting ready to serve.
I am still of the camp that says don't drown the damn things.
Grilled sausage in one hand, beer in the other. The two shall never meat (sic)
I need to be shown otherwise. I am betting you are up for the challenge.
Please invite both Mark and me.
There's a red-eye out of Vancouver leaving Thursday. I will pack light but need a ride.
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Cal, I don't want to be ungrateful or churlish. But really I DGAS about brats except as a brand new food experience which I fiddled with for a week and then set aside. I found a butcher shop who sold Brats From Wisconsin!!! and horsed around with recipes for a while, before coming to the realization: The Best Brat You Can Buy And Cook In Silicon Valley, isn't actually life changing. Isn't transcendent. Isn't even as good as a well made platter of beef skirt steak fajitas, which are available in great abundance here.
I am thankful and very grateful for your offers of hospitality but "brats" ain't something I care about deeply. You and I, Cal, can bond much more deeply over gin martinis and pickled okra garnishes, I feel certain.
I am thankful and very grateful for your offers of hospitality but "brats" ain't something I care about deeply. You and I, Cal, can bond much more deeply over gin martinis and pickled okra garnishes, I feel certain.
If interested, look up 'Vada Pav', originally Bombay worker transit food, and 'Dabeli', a stuffed Pav bread, originally from the Kutchh region of Gujarat State, India.
Quite popular here, shelf life after preparation is like 5 minutes, gets soggy after that.
And the South Indian idli shops had the fast food chains beaten for quick service before the chains even thought about it, Idli in Sambar is served in seconds, and should be eaten fast...
There is a dish here called 'Nihaari', basically a beef stew which takes a long time to cook, eaten with a variety of breads, worth looking up.
Quite popular here, shelf life after preparation is like 5 minutes, gets soggy after that.
And the South Indian idli shops had the fast food chains beaten for quick service before the chains even thought about it, Idli in Sambar is served in seconds, and should be eaten fast...
There is a dish here called 'Nihaari', basically a beef stew which takes a long time to cook, eaten with a variety of breads, worth looking up.
I'm fortunate, I live in the home of Alpine Meats, the official dog of the SF Giants. Also have a butcher shop known for their sausage 20 minutes away. Lockeford Meats.
Interestingly enough, the two single worst culinary experiences I have ever had were in Milwaukee and Pewaukee, Wisconsin. This was during the early winter of 2002. My girlfriend at the time was 1st generation American, Spanish. We went to the "best Mexican restaurant in Southern WI" not expecting anything great as we're from CA. Awards covering the walls, newspaper clippings, articles, etc.
I order a chile relleno and my GF orders a chile Colorado. Both are so terribly bland that we can't actually eat it. Next morning we go to a "greasy spoon" diner, I get biscuits and gravy. You could have plastered walls with it, it was so heavy. GF got chicken fried steak flavored high cholesterol and high blood pressure.
We were staying with friends, also originally from CA. They took us to the best places they knew. I think they had been gone too long.
Didn't have a bad steak or pizza in Chicago just a couple hours away, but man, we sure struck out in WI for food.
Interestingly enough, the two single worst culinary experiences I have ever had were in Milwaukee and Pewaukee, Wisconsin. This was during the early winter of 2002. My girlfriend at the time was 1st generation American, Spanish. We went to the "best Mexican restaurant in Southern WI" not expecting anything great as we're from CA. Awards covering the walls, newspaper clippings, articles, etc.
I order a chile relleno and my GF orders a chile Colorado. Both are so terribly bland that we can't actually eat it. Next morning we go to a "greasy spoon" diner, I get biscuits and gravy. You could have plastered walls with it, it was so heavy. GF got chicken fried steak flavored high cholesterol and high blood pressure.
We were staying with friends, also originally from CA. They took us to the best places they knew. I think they had been gone too long.
Didn't have a bad steak or pizza in Chicago just a couple hours away, but man, we sure struck out in WI for food.
OK, well for those that do give a hoot here is how I was taught to do it in my early teens from the president of the local German shooting club. This was served often (in rotation) at their bi-monthly sunday dinners. Brats/kraut/onions on hotdog buns with potato salad and baked beans sides.
Dedicated to Georgie Schmidt…….he was awesome!
I’m not sure what beer he used but it was whatever was on tap at the clubhouse, I’ve come to figure out the dark lagers are best and typically use either Michelob amber bock, Dos Equis, or Negro Modelo.
Try to find the highest quality genuine german bratwurst possible, there was a german butcher that was a club member who supplied these particular brats……looking for a small local butcher is your best bet besides home made.
Aldi’s brand bratwurst is some of the best mass marketed I’ve tried and is what I typically use.
Sauerkraut must also be of high quality from either glass jar or bags (no metal cans!) unpasteurized if possible, in the above scenario the butcher made his own in shop. I also make my own but will use Claussens if its all that’s available.
This will be a one pan dish for those without bbq grills…..those with grills I’m sure can figure out how to adapt the fried brats to grilled ……..either way only brown them at medium heat and only cooking until half done then put to the side covered. it’s important to not burst the skin of the brat…..this is accomplished with gentle flipping with dull tongs, do not let the brats stick at all, much movement is necessary. If the skin does break on one or two its not the end of the world……just try your best!
Ingredient list (double or triple etc. as needed depending on quantity of brats)
1 lb raw brats (you can use the precooked white ones but not as good for this recipe)
3 medium size sweet onions (sliced)
2 tbs butter
1 tbs cooking oil
1 qt sauerkraut
chicken stock (for deglazing)
1 bottle (12oz) lager beer (dark preferably)
1/2 tsp caraway seeds (toasted in a dry pan)*
1/4 tsp dried juniper berries*
1/4 tsp dill seeds (not weed)*
* grind (course) together in a mortar and pestle
Need a good thick bottom pan (preferably cast iron) on med/hi heat add 1 tbs butter and 1 tbs oil, once heated, brown the brats as directed above. Remove and cover brats with foil.
Still on med/hi heat deglaze pan with a little chicken stock, then add the other tbs butter for onions, caramelize to deep brown, deglazing as needed with chicken stock.
once thats done stir in kraut and spice blend (I don’t drain the kraut first but most people probably would…..it will be less salty drained).
Cook it down stirring until dry then add the 12oz beer stir in and drop to low simmer, after its at a stable low simmer drop the brats in covering them with kraut and cook without lid for no more than 20 minutes (I usually do about 15) turn off heat then remove pan from hot burner, let rest for at least 15 more minutes.
Put them on a bun (I like the Hawaiian bread hotdog buns) covered with kraut, add your favorite brown mustard (I prefer without mustard) and enjoy with the same beer you cooked with. Like said in the beginning potato salad and baked beans go great with this.
Hopefully this might change some minds about the process……it seems simple but if you follow these steps exactly you might come around! Understand it might not gel on the first go round but don’t give up, once dialed in this is killer stuff!
Enjoy,
Bob
Dedicated to Georgie Schmidt…….he was awesome!
I’m not sure what beer he used but it was whatever was on tap at the clubhouse, I’ve come to figure out the dark lagers are best and typically use either Michelob amber bock, Dos Equis, or Negro Modelo.
Try to find the highest quality genuine german bratwurst possible, there was a german butcher that was a club member who supplied these particular brats……looking for a small local butcher is your best bet besides home made.
Aldi’s brand bratwurst is some of the best mass marketed I’ve tried and is what I typically use.
Sauerkraut must also be of high quality from either glass jar or bags (no metal cans!) unpasteurized if possible, in the above scenario the butcher made his own in shop. I also make my own but will use Claussens if its all that’s available.
This will be a one pan dish for those without bbq grills…..those with grills I’m sure can figure out how to adapt the fried brats to grilled ……..either way only brown them at medium heat and only cooking until half done then put to the side covered. it’s important to not burst the skin of the brat…..this is accomplished with gentle flipping with dull tongs, do not let the brats stick at all, much movement is necessary. If the skin does break on one or two its not the end of the world……just try your best!
Ingredient list (double or triple etc. as needed depending on quantity of brats)
1 lb raw brats (you can use the precooked white ones but not as good for this recipe)
3 medium size sweet onions (sliced)
2 tbs butter
1 tbs cooking oil
1 qt sauerkraut
chicken stock (for deglazing)
1 bottle (12oz) lager beer (dark preferably)
1/2 tsp caraway seeds (toasted in a dry pan)*
1/4 tsp dried juniper berries*
1/4 tsp dill seeds (not weed)*
* grind (course) together in a mortar and pestle
Need a good thick bottom pan (preferably cast iron) on med/hi heat add 1 tbs butter and 1 tbs oil, once heated, brown the brats as directed above. Remove and cover brats with foil.
Still on med/hi heat deglaze pan with a little chicken stock, then add the other tbs butter for onions, caramelize to deep brown, deglazing as needed with chicken stock.
once thats done stir in kraut and spice blend (I don’t drain the kraut first but most people probably would…..it will be less salty drained).
Cook it down stirring until dry then add the 12oz beer stir in and drop to low simmer, after its at a stable low simmer drop the brats in covering them with kraut and cook without lid for no more than 20 minutes (I usually do about 15) turn off heat then remove pan from hot burner, let rest for at least 15 more minutes.
Put them on a bun (I like the Hawaiian bread hotdog buns) covered with kraut, add your favorite brown mustard (I prefer without mustard) and enjoy with the same beer you cooked with. Like said in the beginning potato salad and baked beans go great with this.
Hopefully this might change some minds about the process……it seems simple but if you follow these steps exactly you might come around! Understand it might not gel on the first go round but don’t give up, once dialed in this is killer stuff!
Enjoy,
Bob
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Alpine Village store and restaurant in Torrance closed down.
Sad.
Some of the best sausages in the West Coast.
There's another one in Huntington Beach. I don't know if they're related, I should give them a try.
This will give you an idea of the ethnicity of where I live.
I can tell you that those numbers do not reflect reality
Tagalog and Vietnamese are way underrated in those tables.
I suspect others as well.
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TBH, my experience is very limited as when I eat out, I mostly do the carnivore thing. If I want vegetable based food, I eat at home.
I would guess I would be somewhere in the middle as far as heat goes. I have not the desire nor the ability to eat heat like before.
IOW, I'm too old for that ****!
I think more importantly the percentage numbers are what matters.
If we're gonna quote absolute numbers then I live in a Peking suburb.
My city, just a drop in the metropolis, is 44% Asian... for over 130K. You got your (lots of) Chinese, then you got the Persians, Indians, some Japanese, etc... we even got Vietnamese... the ones that make good money (like our eye doctor) and moved out of Westminster.
Yep, our food is also very good. I'd say the best dim sum this way of Chinatown/LA, Monterey Park, Pasadena, Torrance... hmm.... As good, or better actually, than the stuff we've had in Vancouver, BC and Seattle. (Haven't done SF for eons).
Darn good Vietnamese too, lots of pho... but if we just drive a few miles North on the 405, you see the old South Vietnamese flag all over and some truly awesome Viet cuisine.... I myself am partial for French-Viet fusion. Some of the best pates I've ever tasted.
I love those take out lunches with rice, pork and an egg on top. Yum!
Honestly, we keep thinking of moving out of State, but then I think that for the time being the cuisine around here is only matched by East New Jersey (and their Asian sucks in comparison). Although the Brazilian BBQ is making good inroads in SoCal too.
Then you got the In'N'Out down our street and Roberto's down in San Diego.
Let's not forget Hawai'ian plate lunches and Okinawan champuru!
And, oh! let's not forget Mariscos Hector in Santa Ana.
And, I did post up the pictures of the paella for my wife's birthday at La Española in San Pedro.
Oh, Naresh, we also got quite a few Indian restaurants. It's amazing how complex that cuisine really is. I think we got our Chinese down pat, but Indian is a kaleidoscope... never mind that it begat IPA beer.
Then, I almost forgot, we got a huge Filipino supermarket with their food court. No need to go to Artesia for us. Anona Pare!
I'm suddenly pretty hungry.
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Yes, over a half million in the Metro Vancouver area.
Between our Chinatown and Richmond, they have the market cornered in that cuisine.
Like you, we are spoiled, and of course eveyone thinks theirs is the best.
I believe the percentage of "asians" in California stands at around 15M, which is about 15%.
The "Chinese" are in total about 1.7M -including Taiwanese.
Most of the "Chinese" in the Bay Area came from Southern China (Hong Kong)... while in SoCal we have a lot of Taiwanese and Northern Mainland Chinese. I believe the Bay Area population is long established- multigenerational- American-Chinese whereas we have a lot of first generation immigrants in SoCal.
If you want "chop-suy" and American-Cantonese you go to the Bay Area. If you want Taiwanese, Funan, Hunan, etc... you come to SoCal. I can recommend Pasadena, Monterey Park and Irvine.
The population in BC is most from Hong Kong, right? Came in when the UK ceded HK to China?
Have you noticed how many good dim sum restaurants are called xxxx-Empress?
The "Chinese" are in total about 1.7M -including Taiwanese.
Most of the "Chinese" in the Bay Area came from Southern China (Hong Kong)... while in SoCal we have a lot of Taiwanese and Northern Mainland Chinese. I believe the Bay Area population is long established- multigenerational- American-Chinese whereas we have a lot of first generation immigrants in SoCal.
If you want "chop-suy" and American-Cantonese you go to the Bay Area. If you want Taiwanese, Funan, Hunan, etc... you come to SoCal. I can recommend Pasadena, Monterey Park and Irvine.
The population in BC is most from Hong Kong, right? Came in when the UK ceded HK to China?
Have you noticed how many good dim sum restaurants are called xxxx-Empress?
Holy crap. I have to say that is the best instructions ever to serve a hot dog.
I mean sausage
Damn, I mean bratwurst!
Forgive me.
